Golf tee setter



April 4, 1967 J. A. LYNCH 3,312,468

GOLF TEE SETTER Filed May 6, 1964 INVENTOR.

JAMES A LYNCH ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,312,468 GOLF TEE SETTERJames A. Lynch, 4108 Sunrise Way, Louisville, Ky. 40220 Filed May 6,1964, Ser. No. 365,389 1 Claim. (Cl. 27333) This invention rel-ates toan improvement in golf tee setting devices and more particularly to animproved pocket type tee setter especially designed to effect readysetting of a golf tee in hardened ground. More specifically, thisinvention relates to a tee setter whereby a golf tee may be set inhardened ground at a pre-determined height and whereby the tee'may beraised or lowered so that the correct driving height can be ascertainedvisually.

Under the present practice, the depth at which a tee is driven into theground may depend upon factors which are entirely unrelated to thecharacteristics of a golfers swing or to the particular club which heselects. Thus, for example, if the ground is hard and dry, thedifliculty which a golfer encounters when driving a tee into the groundmay cause him to tee the ball higher than normal and, if the ground isdamp and soft, to tee the ball lower than normal. Since the height atwhich a ball is supported by a tee is peculiar to a golfers swing andthe loft of the club which is selected, it is important that the tee beset at the correct height for a particular golfer and. club ifconsistently good drives :are to be made.v

Variations in the height at which a ball is teed may produce unwantedvariations in the flight path of the ball even though the golfers swingis consistent and his selection of the clubs is identical.

It is well known that the setting of golf tees in the ground or drivingtees on heavily played and usually unwatered golf courses, such aspublic courses, particularly in dry weather, is quite difiicult. It isnot unusual during the dry season that the players are required tohammer their tees into the ground with any object available for thatpurpose, such as, for example, the head of a golf club or the shoe ofthe player. Such practice is hard on the club head and detracts from andslows up the game. Additionally, it is not unusual that a golfer willsplit the tee in attempting to drive same into the hardened ground.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a teesetter to be used by a golfer in driving a tee vertically into theground at a height which may be visually gauged by the golfer.

Another object of this invention is to provide -a gripping means wherebya tee may be raised to the desired height if the initial thrust drivesthe shank thereof too deeply in the ground.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a pocket type teesetter in the nature of a golfing accessory which may be carried in thepocket and which is effective to set tees into the hardened ground by asimple thrust or push of the hand.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a golf tee setterwhich may be inexpensively manufactured and which is characterized bydependable and simple operation over a long period of use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art from a review of the attached drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation illustrating the tee setter of my inventionand its relation with the ball and with the tee in which the ball actsas a coupling between the setter and the tee.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation illustrating the relation of the resilientgripping means to the shank of the tee.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation illustrating the method by which thegripping means may be released so as to disengage the tee setter fromthe teed ball.

The tee setter 1 consists of a hand piece which contains a transversebar 3 having a curved surface for engagement with the palm of the handwhereby sufiicient hand thrust may be applied thereto to drive the teeinto the ground. Connected to the transverse bar 3 is a shaft 2 having ahead portion 4 which contains a socket adapted to register with theground surface of the ball. This piece may be made from metal or may bemolded of plastic as a unitary piece or of other materials well known tothose skilled in the art. In the lower portion of the shaft 2 is a hole5a through which a transverse steel spring member may be inserted. Inthe modification shown'in FIG. 1, the steel spring member is bent at 6and 6a to form a bow spring arrangement terminating in depending arms 7which are arcuate in shape, each of which contains a gripping dog 8 atthe lower end thereof. Gripping dogs 8 are adapted to engage with theshank 12 of tee 9 so :as to hold the head 11 of tee 9 in couplingengagement with ball 10 which is fitted into the socket of head 4 of thehand piece. Since the entire spring assembly is made from spring steelthe shank 12 of the tee 9 is held in firm engagement with the ball sothat it will not become disengaged from the ball when hand thrust isapplied to the transverse bar 3 to drive the tee into the ground.Furthermore, in the event that the tee is driven too far into theground, as is determined visually by the golfer, it is possible tomanipulate the tee setting device to raise the ball to the desired levelfor a particular club without disengaging the gripping dogs 8 from theshank of the tee 9. Thereafter, when the teed ball is at the properlevel for a particular drive, the gripping dogs 8 are disengaged fromthe shank of the tee 9 by applying finger pressure to the under-surfaceof the bow spring 6 as is illustrated in FIG. 3 so as to spread the armsand gripping dogs laterally for a suificient distance to clear both thetee and the ball 10 (see FIG. 3).

It will be noted from the construction of this device that there isprovided a method by which the ball acts as a coupling between the handpiece and the tee. Thus, it is possible for the golfer to visually gaugethe distance at which the ball is elevated from the ground as the tee isdriven into the ground by hand thrust. Additionally, the gripping dogs 8are constructed to reinforce the shank of the tee at the point ofgreatest strain, thus tending to alleviate the possibility of splittingor splintering of the tee as it is driven into the ground. Furthermore,the gripping dogs 8 retain the tee in firm engagement with the ball sothat if the tee is driven to deeply for the golfers preference, he may,by lifting the transverse bar 3, raise the tee to the desired level fora particular drive. Thereafter, by application of finger pressure on thefinger members he may spread the depending arms sufficiently to removethe entire tee setter from engagement with the ball and the tee.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that I have provided atee setting device which is simple in its method of operation andeconomical to produce. This device allows the golfer to carry it in hispocket as a golfing accessory and to visually determine the elevation ofthe ball prior to disengaging the setter from the ball and tee. It willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications maybe made in the tee setter of my invention. The specific embodimentsdisclosed herein are intended to be exemplary in nature andnon-limiting, except as to be commensurate in scope with the appendedclaim.

I claim:

A portable golf tee setter adapted to be carried in a golfers pocket,which comprises:

(1) a hand piece including a palm engaging portion, a

shaft portion, and a head portion,

(a) said palm engaging portion having suflicient surface area forreceiving hand thrust,

(b) said head portion containing a socket adapted to engage with thesurface of a golf ball,

(2) a resilient tee gripping means of unitary one piece constructionincluding: a transverse 1 strap spring member, depending arcuate armsand gripping dogs located at the end of said arms,

(a) said transverse strap spring member being mounted in said shaft ofsaid hand piece and bent to form bow springs which act as finger membersfor application of upwardly directed finger pressure to separate saiddepending arcuate arms,

(b) said depending arcuate arms depending from said bow springs andhaving a sufficient radius to accommodate a golf ball in couplingengagement with said socket and a tee,

(c) said gripping dogs being adapted for gripping a tee along its shank,

whereby the gripping dogs may be held in firm engagement with the shankof said tee to maintain the ball in coupling engagement with the socketof said hand piece and the head of the tee as thrust is applied theretoand to maintain said coupling engagement until finger pressure isapplied upwardly to said bow springs to separate said arcuate arms andthereby release the gripping dogs from engagement with the shank of saidtee.

References'Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 683,244 9/1901Boda et al 27333 1,530,354 3/1925 Cox 29428 2,606,764 8/1952 Mason 27333RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

G. I. MARLO, Assistant Examiner.

